In August, EPA’s National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) released a draft report providing recommendations to the agency on water infrastructure investment. The document, entitled EPA’s Role in Addressing the Urgent Water Infrastructure Needs of Environmental Justice Communities, outlines suggested actions EPA should take to address water infrastructure challenges in disadvantaged communities. Among theRead More

By Mike Keegan On July 5, President Donald Trump tweeted that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt had resigned from his position as the head of the agency. The acting administrator is now Andrew Wheeler, who previously served as deputy administrator. Wheeler has pledged to implement Pruitt’s agendaRead More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program has received a record 62 letters of interest requesting $9.1 billion in credit assistance. “The more than $9 billion in WIFIA loans requested is nearly double our lending capacity for 2018, demonstratingRead More

Earlier in August, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved FY19 appropriations legislation that would provide level funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its water infrastructure financing programs next year. The minibus, approved by a 92-6 vote, joined together four bills, including the fiscal 2019 EPA-Interior budget bill, a Financial ServicesRead More

As part of a draft infrastructure bill released last week by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program would be reauthorized at $250 million over five years. According to the Association of Metropolitan WaterRead More

The House of Representatives has approved FY19 appropriations legislation that would provide funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) next year. The bill as approved by the House would facilitate billions of dollars’ worth of low-cost water infrastructure loans. The bill, an Interior and Environment Appropriations bill, contains a totalRead More

According to the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) in its Monday Morning Briefing for July 16, things got heated on Capitol Hill last week when supporters of the proposed SRF WIN Act clashed with committee members over the bill during a Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee hearing. AccordingRead More

Scott Pruitt is out as the nation’s top environmental chief. President Donald J. Trump announced in a July 5 tweet he has accepted Pruitt’s resignation as administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The news comes amid growing controversy over ethical questions regarding Pruitt. Trump also announced deputy administrator AndrewRead More

By Diane VanDe Hei Washington has heard a lot of talk over the past year about the need to address the nation’s aging infrastructure, but there has been little agreement among Democrats and Republicans about how to go about it. However, a program created by Congress four years ago is actuallyRead More

New data shows that requests to fund water and wastewater infrastructure projects through the U.S. EPA’s administered State Revolving Fund (SRF) program have increased 25 percent since last year. For the most recent cycle, 2017/2018 fiscal year, $26.9 billion has been requested for drinking water and another $55.3 billion forRead More